Sortie Report (Form 541)
21 SQUADRON S.A.A.F. 1st RAID : 21st FEBRUARY, 1945 :OPREP 939T/OFF:- 0800 hrs. SERMIDE SUGAR REFINERY. OPERATION 149/21S/M. ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
513 Hv:Lt. Col.Ord Markham Hodges Smit Forster Rabie✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓535 K :Lt. Granger Richardson Bailey Adams Kruger Wood✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓539 T :Lt. Collender Gillam Deane Bensen Banfield Suter✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓561 B :Lt. Ackermann Dore- Steenkamp Goodwin Malan Stephen ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
429 A :Lt. Brunette McDonald R. Benade Roelofse Detteley Heaven.✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓519 G :Lt. Napier [strike-through: Fax] Wells Owen Hughes Jordaan Stubbs Moir✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓411 L :Lt. Reyneke Cordell Teague Hennesey Cleete Tennant ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
477 W :Lt. Cloete Blackford Smit Paxton Venter Greijbe✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ^ ✓498 N :Lt. Gough Francis Ryan Andrews Laird Rennie^ MCDONALDT.✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓474 D :Lt. Stuart [strike-through: Hanna] Dickenson Oldfield vd Berg Ras.TIME :- 2.00 Hrs. for all.REMARKS:-
Transcriber's Notes
- S.A.A.F
- South African Air Force.
- OPREP
- Operational Report.
- T/OFF
- Take Off.
- SERMIDE SUGAR REFINERY
- A strategic industrial target in the Po Valley. Refineries were prioritized because their large structures provided excellent aiming points and they were often repurposed by the Germans for fuel storage or industrial alcohol production.
- OPERATION 149/21S/M
- The 149th operational mission for 21 Squadron using Marauder (M) aircraft.
- Lt. Col. Ord
- Lieutenant Colonel Donald Ord, DFC; Officer Commanding 21 Squadron SAAF.
[AUTO-CLASSIFIED — VERIFY CATEGORY]
vd Berg: van den Berg.
Crew Corrections:
In aircraft 519 G, the name "Fax" is struck through and replaced by the handwritten name "Wells".
In aircraft 498 N, a caret symbol (**) denotes the insertion of the name "MCDONALDT." beneath the pilot/navigator entries, likely a late addition to the aircrew roster.
In aircraft 474 D, the navigator name "Hanna" is struck through, signifying a crew substitution for this specific mission.